Improvement in sounding apparatus



NIETEHS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHNGTON UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

S. E. MORSE AND G. L. MORSE, OF HARRISON, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SOUNDING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,436, dated July 17,1866.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SIDNEY E. MORSE and G. LIVINGSTON MonsE, ofHarrison, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have madeauseful improvementin the method of measuring the depth of water and thecompression of liquids by the invention of a new instrument, which wecall a Bathometerf7 and we do hereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and eXact description thereof,

which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, ofan apparatus made according` to our invention as it appears in itsdescent. Fig. 2 is an elevation showing1 it after its descent, when ithas again reached the surface of a body of water. Fig. 3 is amodification of the sinking apparatus.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

It has been found diflicnlt to ascertain the, true depth of rivers andother bodies of water in motion by means of a line, on account of thecurrents causing deviation of the line from perpendicularity; and in'sounding deep seas and oceans much time is consumed on account of theretardation of the line by friction both in ascending and descending.

Our invention obviates these difficulties 5 and it consists, in generalterms, in measuring the depth of water by the compression of a fluid orfluids contained in a vessel sunk by a weight which is automaticallydetached from the rest of the apparatus on striking bottom, allowing thevessel and its other accompaniments to be raised by a buoy, theapparatus being sunk without any connection with aline, and the buoybeing provided with a signal to enable the operator to recover it whenit ascends to the surface of the water.

In carrying ont our invention we take a glass bottle-say about five orsix inches long and of such interior diameter that its capacity, eX-clusive of any solid substance and ofthe mercury and air it may contain,shall be about live cubic inches-and let it be shaped as in theaccompanying drawings, where it is designated A. Take also a glassmeter-tube, B,

about seven or eight inches long, open at both ends, with a bore of suchdiameter that the capacity of the tube shall be one-quarter of a cubicinchi. e., a bore about one-fifth of an inch in diameter. Let this tubebe swelled near the upper end, and the swelled part ground into astopper to tit the neck when the lower orifice of the tube is withinabout an eighth of an inch from the bottom of the bottle. Pour into thebottle mercury just sufticient to be on a level with the lower orificeof the meter-tube when it shall be inserted, and enough more to ill themeter-tube once. Then ll the bottle with water and insert themeter-tube, so that the swelled part or groundglass stopper shall befitted perfectly tight into the neck of the bottle.

To secure the stopper in its place a frame of brass or other suitablematerial, G G, with a circular hole in 'the upper side to permit themeter-tube to pass through it, lnay be put around the vessel, and,resting on a shoulder in the metertube formed by the top of the swelledor stopper part, may be fastened with a screw, F, which, passing throughthe middle of the lower side of the brass band, and pressing against thebottom of the vessel or some intervening substance, shall bindthestopper firmly in the neck of the vessel. Take, then, a thinindia-rubber tube tive or siX inches long and of such diameter that whenopened it can be drawn easily but closely for about half an inch overthe outer end of the meter -tube. Draw it over and faste-n it by windinga cord around it, which shall force the india-rubber into circulargrooves ground in the glass. Fill the rubber tube with water, and inserta plug about half an inch long into its yupper end, and fasten it bywinding and tying a cord around the tube. It will then form a bag ofwater, and it should be long enough to hold a quantity of water atleastsufficient to iill the meter-tube once.

A scale may be made on the outside of the lnetertube, either by etchingthe glass or by attaching thereto marked paper, varnished, to protect itfrom water; or the scale may be made on the inside, on a rod extendingfrom the bottom of the bottle through the meter and india-rubber tubes,and fastened as a stopper in the mouth of the india-rubber tube, in

y of the vessel, to supply the vacancy caused there by the compressionof its contents. 0n

the return of the instrument to the surface the expansion of the fluidor fluids in the body of the vessel, under the relaxation of theexternal pressure during the ascent, will force the mercury into themeter-tube to the amount of their greatest compression, therebyindicating the degree of that compression, and, by inference, the depthto which the instrument has descended.

1t is stated in Lardners Hand-Book of Natural Philosophy, page 4S, thatwater submitted to a mechanical pressure of ifteen pounds on a squareinch is diminished in its volume by forty-tive parts in a million, andthat the compression continues in this proportion as you increase thepressure. Now, as the pressure of a column of salt-water thirty-fourfeet high is fifteen pounds on a square inch, a table can easily be madefrom these data of the amount of compression due to every depth ofwater, from one foot or one inch to the greatest depths of the ocean. Atthe depth of thirty-four thousand feet the compression of sea-water mustbe,vby this rule, forty-five thousand millionths, and at the depth ofthirty-seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven feet, or a littlemore than seven miles, the compression must befifty-thousan dmillionths,oronetwenti eth part of its volume at the surface of theocean. If, therefore,we have abathometer with a metertube ofone-twentieth part of the capacity of the body of the vessel-e. g., ifthe meter-tube (whichwe will suppose is of even bore and seven incheslong) have al capacityr of onequarter of a cubic inch and there wereiive cubic inches of water in the body of the vessel above the mercury,we could measure with such an instrument any depth of the ocean notexceeding seven miles. Every inch of the scale of the meter-tube wouldrepresent almost precisely a mile of depth in the ocean and if, on thereturn ofthe instrument to the surface, the mercuryshould fill the tubeit would indicate that it had descended to the depth of seven miles.

If great accuracy should be deemed necessaryin making the table to whichwe have referred, allowance must of course be made for the increaseddensity and weight of the water as you descend, caused by compression;and this, at the depth of seven miles, being onetwentieth, thecompression of thirty-four cubic inches would beinto 32.30 cubic inches,and of thirty-four linear inches into about 33.43 linear inches. Whencorrected by this allowance, the water would be compressed one-twentiethof its volume at the depth of thirty-seven thousand seven hundred andseventy-seven feet minus three hundred and fourteen feet, equal tothirty-seven thousand four hundred and sixty-three feet, or seven milesand ve hundred and three feet.

If still greater accuracy should be required, allowance must be made forthe expansion of glass, water, and mercury by heat and their contractionby cold. The best mode of graduating the bathometer will be by sinkingit with a graduated line in still water of rnedium temperature-say 550or 600 of Fahrenheit.

To adapt the instrument for measuring depths in comparatively shallowwater-say depths of iive hundred feet or less-a small quantity of airshould be introduced into the bottle. v

If in the instrument described above a quantity of air just enough toiill four inches of the meter-tube were added to the five cubic inchesof water in the bottle, the result would be about as follows: On thereturn of the instrument froln the depth of thirty-four feet the mercurywill stand at about two inches; one hundred and two feet, three inches;two hundred and thirty-eight feet, three and a half inches; five hundredand ten feet, three and three-fourths inches;

At the depth of ve hundred and ten feet ive cubic inches of water wouldbe so much compressed that in a bathometer constructed as describedabove the mercury would, on that account alone, rise in the meter-tube,on the return of the instrument to the surface from that depth, aboutone-tenth of an inch. This, added to the three and three-fourthsproduced by the compression of the air, would cause the mercury to risenearly to the four-inch mark.

For greater depths than iive hundred feet it will be best, ordinarily,to depend on the compression of water or some other liquid alone; and ifa scale of an inch to a mile should be deemed inconveniently small itcould be altered, even while preserving the same capacity of bottle, bylengthening the meter-tube and proportionally diminishing its bore. If,for example, the length of the meter-tube were twenty-eight inches,instead of seven inches, and its bore so reduced that its capacityshould be still a quarter of a cubic inch, four inches, instead of oneinch, of the scale would rindicate a mile, and so on. If, however, thediameter of the bore should be reduced much below onefifth of an inch,mercury and water would not readily pass each other to assume theposition due to their relative specific gravity, and on the return ofthe instrument to the surface it might be necessary to unstop the bottleand press upon the india-rubber bag to force the mercury from themeter-tube into the bottle as a preparation for a new operation. lf,however, therebe sufficient airin the bottle, the mercury may bedischarged, evenfrom a very small bore, without upstoppin g the bottle,merely by pressing the bag. The instrument should be turned on its sidebefore pressing upon the bag. If the meter-tube be sufficiently wide inthe bore, the adjustment of theinstrument for a new operation can bemade without any pressure by simply turning the tube on its side andthen restoring it to a perpendicular position.

To save time in deep-sea soundings, we dispense entirely with the use ofthe line. Three or four hours, it is said, are usually required to takea single sounding at the depth of two thousand fathoms with a line orwire, in consequence of the `retardation by the friction of the water onso large a surface, while a {iveinch cannon-ball would reach the bottomat this depth and a five-inch hollow glass sphere wouldrise to thesurface from this depth each in much less time.

To cause our bathometer todescend and ascend rapidly in the deep sea wetherefore attach to it an apparatus constructed as follows:

A hollow sphere of glass, B', about oneeighth of an inch thick andiive'inches interior diameter, is attached by cords or fine wire to thebathometer, as represented in the accompanying drawings. Such a spherewill buoy in water a weight of two pounds, which is about one pound morethan the weight of the bathometer and its accompani ments described inthis specification. Into the knob L, on the lower side of the brassframe() G, screw a circular rod or tube of wood, brass, or galvanizediron, E D, eight or ten inches long and onequarter of an inch diameter,through which a slot is made near the top, at E, to receive the thin atlever P Q. -Insert the lever so that the length E Q shall be ten timesthe length E P of sa-id lever, and connect the rod and lever by a pin orpivot on which they are free to vibrate. To the end of the long arm ofthe lever, at Q, attach, by a cord two or three feet long, a body oflead, S, weighing about onequarter of a pound. To the end ofthe shortarm ofthe lever attach a cord, P Z W, about twelve or fourteen incheslong, having a loop at W. Through a cylindrical hole in a bar or sinkerof cast-iron, R, which should weigh about a pound, pass the rod E D, andbring the loop l/V in the cord l? Z W over the end of the rod below thesinker R. The weight S will then hold the weight R in its position onthe rod, as represented in the drawings. If, now, the bathometer, withthe appendages, be dropped in the sea it will sink till the weight Sistrikes the bottom, and, being supported there, the weightR draws downthe short arm of the lever, causing the loop at the end of the cord P ZW to release itself from the rod E D, and the weightR then drops intothe sea.4 The buoy B is then free to ascend, carrying the bathometer andall its remaining appendages to the surface.

If it should be deemed desirable to save the expense of the iron weight,which is lost by this mode of releasing the buoy, sand or other cheapweight may be used instead of iron by an apparatus constructed asfollows: To a cylindrical tin vessel, R', Fig.3, about four inches indiameter, six inches high, and open at the top, we solder a stiff steelor iron wire, D' E F' G', about fifteen inches long, bent near the topYinto a double right angle, and near the bot.- tom into a single rightangle, as in the drawings. We then rfasten, by soldering or otherwise,the tin vessel to the wire, so that the part E' F', which may be one anda half inch long, shall be directly under one of the radii of thebottom, and the part E D' shall pass vertically along the outside of thevessel, while the part F' G' projects downward from the bottom. We thentake a strip of wood, H l', about fourteen inches long, and into thecenter of the upper end screw vertically a pulley, K', aboutthreefourths of an inch in diameter, and in themiddle of the side of thestrip, about twelve inches below, screw horizontally another pulley, M',about one and a half inch in diameter, so that the faces and grooves ofthe two wheels i K' and M' shall be parallel and in the same plane.

We bore a hole into the outer end of any of the radii of the largerpulley at a point equidistant from the two fiat sides to the depth ofone-fourth of an inch, to receive the wire rod F' G' from the bottom ofthe tin vessel,

and insert and fasten it there by soldering or otherwise. To one end ofa cord about three feet long we attach a weight of about half a pound,N', and passing the cord through ironwire eyes E" f" on the back of thestrip of wood H' I', and over the pulley K', attach it to a small ring,O', and this ring` to a twoounce weight, Q'. Slip the ring O over thebent end of the wire at D', so as to hold the vessel upright, and iillthe vessel with sand orY other cheap weight, attach the whole to thebathometer, and buoy by screwing` into the knob L in Fig. l a rod, S',fastened to the top or upper end of the strip of wood H' I', and dropthe instrument into the sea. It will sink, as before, till the weight Nstrikes the bottom. More than half the weight in the tin vessel beingbeyond the pivot or axis of the larger pulley M', will then fall, andthe two-ounce weight being then allowed to drop, will draw the ring O'from the end of the wire rod at D', and the tin vessel will becompletely upset, discharging the sand or other weight into the sea andleaving the buoy to ascend, as before, carrying the bathometer to thesurface.

To facilitate the finding of the instrument on its return to the surfacea long light rod or pole, X, is inserted in a socket, U, fastened on theupper side of the buoy by wires that pass round it in variousdirections, protecting the body of the buoy and meeting at the bot--tom, where they connect it with the bathometer and its appendages. Theupper end of this rod should be prepared with small pieces of brighttin, polished metal, silvered and colored glass, or other substanceswhich will re iiect the light and attract attention from a distance.

.Having thus described our invention, we

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent* l. Arranging iluids of different specic gravities in a vessel or vessels, so that whensunk in water, or submitted to pressure otherwise, a mark of the amountof compression of one or more of these fluids at the greatest depth, orat the point of greatest compression, is retained for inspection on thereturn of the instrument to the operator, substantially as described.

2. The arrangement of two liquids having unequal specific gravities witha meter-tube, in a vessel closed, except at one end of the meter-tube,in such a way that external pressure, caused by the descent of theinstrument in water or otherwise, will force a portion of the lighterliquid through the heavier liquid into the body of the vessel, to supplythe vacancy there made by the compression of its contents, and thatthen, under a relaxation of the external pressure, caused by the ascentof the instrument in water or otherwise, the expansion or reaction ofthe liquids in the body of the vessel will force the heavier liquid intothe meter-tube to the amount of the compression, thus forming a meter ofthe compression, and, by inference, of the greatest depth to which ithas descended, substantially as described.

3. The introduction of a minute quantity of air or other elastic iluidinto the vessel containing the liquids, as described iu the clause nextpreceding, to make the instrument sensitive as a meter of depth incomparatively shallow water.

4. The application tothe bathometerof a meter-tube so constructed thatthe liquids can easily pass each other in the bore of the saidmeter-tube, thereby enabling the operator to restore them to theiroriginal position for a new operation merely by turning the instrument,substantially as described.

5. Attaching a bag of india-rubber or other suitable flexible materialto the outer end of the meter-tube, for the purpose of preserving theexact quantities of the fluids-in the vessel as at rst adjusted, and ofenabling the operator, by pressure upon the bag, to discharge thecontents of the meter-tube into the vessel, and therefore to use ameter-tube of small bore, substantially as described.

6. Attaching' a buoy and weight to a bathometer in such a Way that whenthe instrument or its appendage touches the bottom the weight shall bedetached and allow the buoy to carry the instrument to the surface,substantially as described, thereby dispensing with a line.

7. The method of releasing a submerged buoy by causing a small weightattached to the long arm of a lever to support on the short arm thelarger weight, which sinks the buoy, till the smaller weight, touchingthe bottom, is supported thereon, thus causing the short arm, no longercouuterpoised, to fall and discharge the greater weight, substantiallyas described.

8. Attaching to a bathometer a rod or pole in such a way that on itsreturn to the surface of the water it will attract attention at adistance, so as to facilitate the recovery of the

